The Conversion of Paul
Acts 9:1-20
Those with power control the world. It does not seem to matter how they become powerful; fame, money, politics. They always seem to have more power, more voice, and more influence than anyone else. I always find it humorous that some of the most profound quotes come from movies. I expect it from books. In the newest Marvel movie The Thunderbolts, Dreyfus’ character quips that “righteousness without power is just an opinion.” Power is arrogant. Lord Acton, rightly stated that, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". This has proven true over and over again. So much so that we tend to idolize those that do not become corrupted. They become our heroes and Legends of old.
And our concept of what a hero is, comes from ancient times, ancient stories and ancient myths or legends. Some are truly stories to keep little boys and girls entertained or frightened of the dark so they will stay inside where parents think it safest. These stories always have a strict code of good versus evil and many also include some supernatural or magical element. At least the oldest ones do. Good is usually an average person we give unbelievable qualities and powers that are far-fetched but keep us listening for the big twist at the end. Or for that so familiar happy ending. Although when you read much of the older folklore happiness and endings didn’t match up so well. The Sea Witch in the Little Mermaid was vanquished in our Americanized Disney version, in the lore, the foam of the sea is all that is left of our mermaid.
What of the villain? Evil comes in the form of a stepparent, witch, warlock, ruler, spirit, demon, or monster. Driven out of the town or maybe just driven from the story. At the very least just a shadowy figure that fades as we imagine the rest of the Cinderella story. Did they have kids? What happened to the stepsisters? The stepmother? The mean old cat named Lucifer?
Today is May the 4th. If you are a sci-fi fan or just heard others who are you will know that Star Wars has coopted the day as their own. It’s May the fourth be with you… Because the movies revolve around their own magical tale of heroes and villains who rise up with powers that come straight from channeling the ‘FORCE’ of the universe. And because it is May 4th I will go ahead and share the story, or at least the important bits.
The universe is large and expansive. Untold numbers of planets and humanoid life that live and travel between these planets. There is of course a dark and oppressive government that extends its power to as many of the plantes and people that it can. This unelected governing force has a dark lord leader called Empire Palpatine. The next in charge is also a dark lord that some call Darth or Lord Vader. Both dark leaders possess immense powers that can send lightning into you or pick you up and slam you into the ground or wall or ceiling if they want. There are also moments where you see them in their battles, picking up heavy objects using the force, and just clobbering the opponent with the random debris.
The light side is an old and dying order because people have lost hope. They lost the stories as the dark side has levied harsh tariffs on trade and taxes without any representation in the imperial senate. They embargoed entire planets and starved civilizations out of autonomy and self-governance. Even going so far as destroying whole planets. All in a lust for power, resources, and hate. The light side Jedi warriors were all but wiped out when the original story first hit the big screen in the 70’s. The two Jedis left are old and done with fighting. But a New Hope slides onto the screen unbeknownst to himself. He is young and flawed. But we root for him just the same. ‘We need a hero’ as Bonnie Tyler so powerfully belted out in "Holding Out for a Hero". We expect one. We hope for one.
So, Luke Skywalker our unassuming hero comes into view as a naive farm boy on a far-flung planet safely kept out of all the action. He quickly finds the action as the empire is searching for the rebellion leaders by tracing two droids. One with a secret message sent by a princess of course. The heroin is a beautiful princess and one of the leaders of the rebel alliance against the empire.
Luke trains in the old ways to become a Jedi who can wield the force and face the dark Lord Vader. When he sees him for the first time it is at the unfortunate demise of his teacher. Not to worry there is another teacher on yet another distant planet. When he flies off to train, his best friends and the princess are captured. He learns of this and cuts his training short only to face Vader and get his hand cut off. Vader reveals that he is in fact Luke’s father and askes Luke to turn dark so they can rule together…
Luke resists and goes back to further his training only to be told that he is done. He need only face Vader again and resist. In one of the greatest movie twists ever, Luke does in fact turn his father back to the light side as he dies in his arms. In doing so, Luke used his power to help guide his father to use his even greater power to defeat the emperor and save the rebel army from certain doom. Our heroes.
While power corrupts most, there are some who have used theirs for good to make a difference. Modern heroes. Fame and money helped front man Bono of U2 to lobby countries for debt forgiveness, money to feed the starving, and medicine to help those with AIDS in Africa.
“In response to North Carolina's House Bill 2, the bands Death Cab for Cutie and Chvrches converted two of their North Carolina concerts into benefits for LGBTQ rights organizations, according to WRAL.com. This action was a form of solidarity and a way to lift up the voices of the LGBTQ community in the face of what the band, and others, saw as discriminatory.”
Then there are ordinary people who find a small but important way to help others. According to Karl Plagge’s Wikipedia page he became a German Army officer because he was drafted. He fought in WWI on the Western Front and was imprisoned in a British prisoner-of-war camp where he caught polio which led to a disability in his left leg. After his release he went to school to study chemical engineering that he had hoped would lead to a medical degree but was not able to because of the family’s finances. When he graduated he was unemployed but ran a pharmaceutical laboratory from the house.
Plagge joined the Nazi party in 1931. He was drawn into the party by Adolf Hitler’s promises to rebuild the German economy and national pride that suffered after WWI. He disagreed with the leadership of the Nazi party after 1933 when Hitler came into power. He refused to believe Nazi racial theories and was disgusted by the persecution of political opponents.
Plagge decided to try to effect change from within the organization. He took a teaching job but was dismissed because he refused to teach their racial ideology. He was accused of treating Jews and Freemasons in his home laboratory and opposing the national Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses. Plagge discontinued activity with the party afterwards.
At the beginning of WWII Plagge was drafted into the reserves and at the same time stopped paying Nazi Party membership fees. He served in Poland after the German invasion and witnessed atrocities that caused him to decide “to work against the Nazis”. He was put in command of an engineering unit in 1941 that repaired military vehicles.
Plagge gave work certificates to Jewish men, certifying them as essential and skilled workers regardless of their actual backgrounds. The permit protected the worker, wife, and up to two children. When his workers were captured he would attempt to free them before they could be executed. In 1943, he negotiated for the expansion of his workforce from 394 Jews to more than 1,000 which likely saved their lives as well as their families. He used what meager power he had to save as many as he could. An average man who took years’ worth of seeing the misuse of power to become the hero.
Saul was a force of evil in our text. He was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.” He was looking for anyone who followed the ‘Way’. Anyone who called Jesus Lord instead of giving appropriate respect to the current Jewish Leaders. And Saul was all for arresting and condemning Jesus’ followers. As a Jewish person with a powerful status, money, and even a Roman citizenship Saul was at the top of the food chain. Maybe not Emperor Palpatine level or Darth Vader but at least Admiral Tarkin level.
In the Nazi party he would have been a ranking officer. Someone who rounded up the Jews and handed them over. Or rounded up those who opposed Hitler, sympathizers, or what have you. He was not one of the good guys. He was on the enemy side. He did not give mercy and would not live and let live. He committed atrocities. As a stringent Jew he would be disgusted by the group that were drawn into belief in the ‘Way’.
The Way. This phrase was used often in the Old Testament to mean a road or manner of life. In the New Testament it is used both literally and metaphorically. The topical Lexicon explains that “Metaphorically, it signifies a course of conduct or a way of life. It is often used to describe the Christian faith and the path of righteousness.” Strong’s Lexicon describes the cultural aspect and concept of "the way" as “significant in Jewish and early Christian thought, symbolizing the journey of life and one's spiritual direction.”
Saul was not going to change on his own. He didn’t have a moment where he witnessed horrors that changed his heart. He would go on oppressing and killing if God had not intervened. Jesus decided to shine so brightly that Saul could do nothing but listen and obey. Jesus changed Saul’s heart into Paul the witness for the church.
Paul isn’t the focus for us, though. God is the only one that can change a person’s heart. We just don’t get to see or read about what most ordinary people’s blinding light experience is. What would you describe as your Damascus Road experience? Or experiences that led you to this point in your life?
You know in every time and place there are groups that are hated. Groups held in contempt. Those that don’t belong. In Saul’s time target groups included, Gentiles (non-Jewish), Samaritans (believers in YHWH that were not Jewish), Ethiopians (where Moses’ wife is believed to come from), and anyone that didn’t follow the same purity laws as the established Jewish community did. Hate just to hate.
We have those hated groups today. The poor, the immigrants, the orphaned, women, LGBTQIA+, black and brown bodied folks, non-English speaking people, non-‘Christians’ (as in not their brand of Christian or of another religion), the disabled, those with special needs, the Press, and anyone one who expresses an alternate opinion that opposes the powerful. These groups are vilified and spoken of as if they are ‘the enemies’. Lies are broadcasted or ‘Xed’ publicly so you turn your ire on them and don’t pay attention to what the Empire is really doing. Funny how the immigrants, those with no money, no power, and no voice are ‘the enemy’. How are groups without money or power somehow going to hurt us?
Aren’t these all the groups Jesus told us to help? Aren’t these all the people that need help the most? The least of these. I don’t have to be gay or black to be an ally. I don’t have to be poor to make some sandwiches and secure clean water to feed someone else. I don’t have to be an immigrant to deserve an interpreter or find or be their voice. I don’t have to be elderly or in a wheelchair to advocate for a ramp to access a building. I don’t have to be a parent to make sure children are safe and well educated. I can simply be someone who sees the light of Christ and decides to follow ‘the Way’ that Jesus taught us to behave, and help. We need more Bonos, Karl Plagges, Dr. Kings, Rosa Parks, Bishop Buddes, Judge Dugans, Congressman Lewis, Senator Bookers… We need people to follow the heart of Jesus’ teachings by helping everyone we have the power to help. We cannot be complacent. Everyone has the right to flourish in safety. Amen.
Bibliography
Barlett, David L., Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, Feasting on the Word YC Vol 2, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. Kindel Edition.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Righteous_Among_the_Nations
https://biblehub.com/greek/3598.htm
https://www.wral.com/story/death-cab-for-cutie-chvrches-turn-nc-concerts-into-lgbt-benefits/15750218/
Jesus was the most woke person who ever lived!